Home / Living Traditions / Mesopotamia, Levant and Arabia

Encyclopedia ID 230

Mudhif reed-arch house

Also known as مضيف · Marsh Arabs

Mudhif reed-arch house: photograph by Hassan Al-Jarrah
Photo: Hassan Al-Jarrah, CC BY-SA 4.0, source on Wikimedia Commons

Bind tall reed bundles into paired arches, lay the ribs and mats and tie off the roof so the guest hall stands against marsh wind and rising water.

Heritage note

Part of the living heritage of Iraq.

Origins

A living tradition passed from person to person; it is not tied to a single dated origin. It belongs to the cultural world of Mesopotamia, Levant and Arabia.

Sources

Related entries

More from Iraq

All 11 traditions from Iraq See them on the map